DE102019214043A1 - Detection of an emergency vehicle with right of way - Google Patents

Abstract

Method for recognizing an emergency vehicle with a right of way in regular traffic with the following steps: Detecting a light emission and / or a sound emission which is set up to cause a light-emitting vehicle to drive through; plausibility checking of a right-of-way of the light-emitting vehicle.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method for recognizing an emergency vehicle with right of way in road traffic.

TECHNICAL BACKGROUND

The e.GO People Mover is an autonomously driving electric minibus that will go into series production from 2019. It was developed together with the drive specialist ZF. The e.GO Mover offers space for 14 people. The vehicle has eight seats and five standing places, measures 4.65 x 1.95 x 2.5 meters and weighs 2,100 kilograms when empty. The 150 kW drive system is operated by a battery with a capacity of up to 70 kWh.

For autonomously driving vehicles, a sensor system is required in road traffic to recognize emergency vehicles with right of way, for example ambulances, so that an emergency vehicle driving behind an autonomously driving vehicle can bring the autonomously driving vehicle to a stop or create an emergency lane so that the emergency vehicle that autonomously driving vehicles can pass safely.

Especially in the case of slow-moving autonomous vehicles, e.g. school buses or agricultural vehicles such as tractors that move autonomously between fields to be cultivated, it is conceivable on the filing date that the sensors for recognizing an emergency vehicle of an autonomous vehicle are abusively manipulated by another third-party vehicle without a special right of way .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Against this background, the invention is based on the object of preventing a manipulation of a sensor system for recognizing an emergency vehicle with right of way of an autonomously driving vehicle.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by a method having the features of claim 1.

• - Ein Verfahren zum Erkennen eines Einsatzfahrzeugs mit Vorfahrt im Regelverkehr, z.B. Straßenverkehr, mit den folgenden Schritten: Detektieren einer Lichtemission und/oder einer Schallemission, die eingerichtet ist, eine Vorfahrt eines lichtemittierenden Fahrzeugs zu bewirken; Plausibilisieren eines Vorfahrtsrechts des lichtemittierenden Fahrzeugs.

Accordingly, it is provided:

• A method for recognizing an emergency vehicle with right of way in regular traffic, for example road traffic, with the following steps: Detecting a light emission and / or a sound emission, which is set up to cause a light-emitting vehicle to drive up; Checking the plausibility of a right of way of the light-emitting vehicle.

Emergency vehicles are specially equipped vehicles on land, on water and in the air. Emergency vehicles in Germany, Austria or Switzerland are often equipped with a blue rotating beacon or blue rotating spotlights and a secondary tone horn in order to be able to signal special rights to other road users.

Police vehicles in Germany may be equipped with forward-facing beacons for red flashing lights with only one main direction of radiation and with signal transmitters for red, luminous ticker for the purpose of safely stopping other road users. Red flashing light is not provided in Austria and Switzerland, but red neon letters can be installed.

Emergency vehicles in Germany belong to an aid organization, e.g. the red cross, the THW or the mountain rescue service, or a special authority. You will be granted special rights and rights of way if these are necessary and necessary to fulfill an order. Civil patrols also drive with emergency vehicles, but these are only identified as such during the emergency.

The determination of an emergency vehicle is, for example, an ambulance or civilian police vehicle.

Emergency vehicles can differ from region to region. For example, police cars look different in different countries or federal states.

Regular traffic is the traffic of several road users on a street, in an airspace or on the water.

Right of way means exercising a right of way.

In this patent application, priority rights are special rights or rights of way. In Germany, for example, exemption from the road traffic regulations is referred to as a special right. In practice, the following maneuvers, for example, have special rights: driving slowly on the motorway (e.g. winter service), stopping or parking when there is no stopping (e.g. garbage collection), driving on sidewalks (e.g. street cleaning), crossing the Speed limits, driving when there is a red light, driving on the opposite lane, driving on a one-way street in the opposite direction of travel or reversing on a one-way street.

In regular traffic, the right of way is the right to demand "free passage" from other road users. This is indicated by the simultaneous switching on of the blue light and the following tone horn.

Infrared radiation, also called IR radiation, is electromagnetic radiation in the spectral range between visible light and longer-wave terahertz radiation. Usually this means light with a wavelength between 780 nm and 1 mm. This corresponds to a frequency range from 300 GHz to 400 THz.

A sensor, also known as a detector, (measured variable or measuring) pick-up or (measuring) sensor, is a technical component that has certain physical, chemical properties or states, e.g. B. temperature, humidity, pressure, speed, brightness, acceleration, pH value, ionic strength, electrochemical potential and / or the material nature of its environment qualitatively or quantitatively as a measured variable. These variables are recorded using physical or chemical effects and converted as sensor data into an electrical signal that can be processed further. Vehicle sensors are mounted on a vehicle in order to detect a vehicle environment. Sensor data that are recorded by vehicle sensors are sensor data related to the vehicle environment.

Radar (English for "radio detection and ranging") is the name for various detection and location methods and devices based on electromagnetic waves in the radio frequency range (radio waves). A radar device is a device that emits bundled electromagnetic waves that receive and evaluate echoes reflected from objects. In this way information about the objects can be obtained. Mostly it is a question of a location (determination of distance and angle). From the received waves reflected from the object, inter alia The following information can be obtained: the angle and the distance to the object, the relative movement between the transmitter and the object, the distance and the absolute speed of the object, contours or images of the object.

Lidar (light detection and ranging), also Ladar (laser detection and ranging), is a radar-related method for optical distance and speed measurement as well as for remote measurement of atmospheric parameters. Instead of radio waves as in radar, laser beams are used.

TOF sensors are 3D camera systems that measure distances using the time of flight (TOF) method. For this purpose, the scene is illuminated by means of a light pulse, and the camera measures the time it takes for the light to reach the object and back again for each pixel. The time required is directly proportional to the distance. The camera thus supplies the distance of the object imaged on it for each image point. The principle is similar to laser scanning with the advantage that an entire scene is recorded at once and does not have to be scanned.

Computer program products generally comprise a sequence of instructions which, when the program is loaded, cause the hardware to carry out a specific method that leads to a specific result.

The basic idea of the invention is to use a sensor to detect a light emission and / or sound emission of a vehicle which is set up to cause the light and / or sound emitting vehicle to drive ahead. After a corresponding light and / or sound emission of a vehicle has been detected, the emission is checked for plausibility, that is, it is checked to determine whether the light and / or sound emitting vehicle is actually a vehicle with right of way.

This prevents autonomous vehicles from being unnecessarily hindered or stopped in traffic. For example, it is thus possible to prevent an autonomous vehicle from stopping because another road user is playing a recording of a siren or emitting a corresponding blue flashing light without having the right of way.

It goes without saying that it is advantageous to check the plausibility of the light emission of a possible emergency vehicle. Sound emissions, e.g. Martin's horns, are particularly easy for third parties to imitate, for example by simply recording them on a mobile phone.

Furthermore, a light emission of a vehicle is easier to assign than a sound emission.

The invention also improves the safety of autonomously driving vehicles in countries in which dangerous robberies occasionally occur in road traffic. As of the filing date, it seems conceivable that criminals will emit appropriate light and / or sound signals in order to bring an autonomously driving vehicle to a stop.

Advantageous refinements and developments result from the further Subclaims and from the description with reference to the figures of the drawing.

According to a preferred development of the invention, the right of way is checked for plausibility by determining and verifying a position of a light-emitting light source of the vehicle. On the registration date, there are blue light systems that emit blue flashing light, which indicate the right of way of a vehicle, on the roofs of emergency vehicles. Accordingly, emergency vehicles often have flashing light systems on a vehicle roof. Civilian police vehicles can also have a mobile flashing light system on a vehicle roof.

According to a preferred development of the invention, the right of way is checked for plausibility by determining and verifying a frequency, wavelength and / or signal sequence of the light signal. Accordingly, it is conceivable to encode a signature that ensures the authenticity of the emergency vehicle in a light signal of a light emission. For example, it is conceivable to have a flashing light with a specific signal sequence, i. H. to emit at a variable frequency.

According to a preferred development of the invention, the right of way is checked for plausibility by verifying the acoustic signal with regard to its frequency, wavelength and / or signal sequence. It goes without saying that in the case of sound-emitting vehicles with a relative speed compared to the autonomously driving vehicle, the Doppler effect must be taken into account.

According to a preferred development of the invention, the detected light emission is recorded in a range that is not visible to humans, in particular in an infrared range. It goes without saying that a light emission can also have several light signals from visible and invisible light. Thus, a vehicle with a right of way can be reliably identified vis-à-vis human road users and computer-controlled road users.

According to a preferred development of the invention, the plausibility of the light emission is checked by checking the light-emitting vehicle with regard to further visible features. For example, typical patterns, markings, colors and the like can be detected on a vehicle with special rights. Furthermore, the recognition of corresponding lettering, for example police, corresponding logos, for example of the Red Cross, the THW or the mountain rescue service, can be recognized.

According to a preferred development of the invention, a region of the vehicle is taken into account with regard to regionally different characteristic features of vehicles with right of way and their light emission. This means that vehicles with special rights can be reliably detected in a large number of countries.

According to a preferred development of the invention, the sensor is designed as a camera, in particular an RGB camera, TOF sensor, radar sensor, lidar sensor and / or the like. The sensors mentioned are likely to be installed in series in a large number of autonomous vehicles. In addition, by merging the aforementioned sensor data, for example, a large amount of data can be made available in order to record the corresponding emissions of a vehicle with special rights.

According to a preferred development of the invention, the vehicle is classified with regard to its determination and a reaction, in particular an immediate stop or a right of way, is determined on the basis of the classification. In the case of a large number of vehicles with special rights, for example ambulances or fire engines, it is sufficient to give the vehicle with special rights right of way. Sufficient space must be created for the vehicle or, as far as possible, the roadway must be cleared. Accordingly, the turn could also be a suitable response to the detection of an ambulance.

In contrast, the detection of a police vehicle may require the vehicle to be stopped immediately.

The computer program product according to one embodiment of the invention carries out the steps of a method according to the preceding description when the computer program product runs on a computer, in particular a computer internal to the vehicle. When the program in question is used on a computer, the computer program product produces an effect, namely the reliable detection of emergency vehicles with right of way.

Figure list

• 1 ein schematisches Blockdiagramm gemäß einer Ausführungsform der Erfindung.

The present invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the exemplary embodiments specified in the schematic figures of the drawings. It shows:

• 1 a schematic block diagram according to an embodiment of the invention.

The accompanying drawings are intended to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of the invention. They illustrate embodiments and, in conjunction with the description, serve to explain principles and concepts of the invention. Other embodiments and many of the advantages mentioned emerge with a view to the drawings. The elements of the drawings are not necessarily shown to scale with one another.

In the figures of the drawings, identical, functionally identical and identically acting elements, features and components - unless stated otherwise - are each provided with the same reference symbols.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

In the step S1 a light emission and / or sound emission which is set up to cause the light- and / or sound-emitting vehicle to move forward is detected. In the step S2 the right of way of the light- and / or sound-emitting vehicle is checked for plausibility.

List of reference symbols

S1-S2

Procedural steps

Claims (10)

Procedure for recognizing an emergency vehicle with a right of way in regular traffic with the following steps: - Detecting (S1) a light emission and / or a sound emission, which is set up to cause a light-emitting vehicle to drive through, by means of a sensor; - Plausibility checking (S2) of a right of way of the light-emitting vehicle. Procedure according to Claim 1 , the right of way being checked for plausibility by determining and verifying a position of a light-emitting light source of the vehicle. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the right of way is checked for plausibility in that a frequency, wavelength and / or signal sequence of the light emission is determined and verified. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the right of way is checked for plausibility in that a frequency, wavelength and / or signal sequence of the sound emission is determined and verified. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein light is detected in a range that is not visible to humans, in particular in an infrared range. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the right of way is checked for plausibility by checking the light-emitting vehicle with regard to further visible features. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a region of the vehicle is taken into account with regard to regionally different characteristic features of vehicles with right of way and their light emissions. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the sensor is designed as a camera, TOF sensor, radar sensor, lidar sensor and / or the like. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the vehicle is classified with regard to its determination and a reaction, in particular immediate stopping or giving way, is determined on the basis of the classification. Computer program product which is designed to be loaded into a memory of a computer and which comprises software code sections with which the steps of the method according to one of the preceding claims are carried out when the computer program product runs on the computer.

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